Maybe It's Better This Way
by HGAFFC
Summary: Oneshot - HGAFFC#2: "...My witch is kind. I am happy. ...So why am I crying?..." A story of a witch and her cat. But beware: Nothing is as it appears to be: Nothing.


**Disclaimer: **I don't own Gakuen Alice.**  
Claimer: **This fan fiction and all errors it might contain are mine.

* * *

This an entry to **Hilaire'sGAFFC#2: The Casting of an Irrevocable Spell**. The prompt is to portray Hotaru Imai as a most original sorceress/witch who has casts spells/creates potions/does whatever is said in the literary/mythological contexts.

* * *

**Maybe It's Better This Way**

[HGAFFC#2] Have you ever heard of the world in which the evil witches and their black cats live in harmony? It's a lie. A wonderful, terrible lie. So the lie hangs in the air like diamonds. Wonderful. Tempting. Forbidden.

* * *

Have you ever heard of the world in which the evil witches and their black cats live in harmony?

It's a lie.

The cat's aren't black, after all, not all of them. And the witches aren't evil, at least, not mine.

My witch tells me of a time when I was human. She says that we lived together, on the human world. She always gets a sad look in her eyes when she says this. It is at times like these when I do not understand her. Why would we ever have lived on the _human_ world? Here, in the witch's land, it is safe. Here, nobody wants for anything. Nobody needs anything. Here, every wish is granted. It confuses me, so I purr and butt my head against her hand, like I always do. It brings a smile to her face, and my world is righted once more.

She always continues with my favorite part of the tale. It is a legend of the witches, and my witch tells me the story often.

Witches grant wishes. On the human world, where everything is chaos and is filled with terrible consequences, there are humans. My witch always says that the only good things about humans are their dreams, their love, and a combination of two: their souls. These are the only things of value on the human world.

One thing about humans is that they love to wish. They adore dreaming. And when a soul cries out a wish, sometimes the witches will go down and grant them. My witch says that for every wish granted, there must be paid a price. Often, the humans don't realize that they really _don't_ want their wishes granted. They just want everything to go their way. So witches can create a universe for them in which everything _always_ goes their way. They must pay the price, however; their souls.

The legend of the witches says that the witches and their cats were once each human, and that we have been turned into witches and cats as a punishment. See? It is a fairytale. After all, how could being a witch and her cat become a punishment?

Anyway, the legend says that someday, the witch will collect one thousand souls. After than day, the witch must find somebody willing to give up their own soul in exchange for the life of their lover, or the one they love. In turn, they will become a witch and their lover a cat. The same curse will be put upon them, the Curse of the Thousand Souls, that was put on the previous witch. And the cycle starts all over.

I don't believe the story. But I know that witches aren't evil, no matter what some people say. The humans have tales of how the witch's magic can never bring happiness, but I do not believe them either.

I am happy.

My witch is kind.

So my world is right.

* * *

My witch has 999 souls.

Today, she is going to Earth to find one more - and then to search for a kind soul who would take her place, or a loving soul who would give theirs up for their lover.

As always, my witch woke up today and eats some stardust. Stardust is sweet, but tangy at the same time. I don't like it, but my witch does. Often, when she is out at Earth, I gather some as a gift for her. After she eats the stardust, she wakes me up. So I open one eye, as usual, and blink hazily at her before stretching.

I don't know if she really thinks I'm asleep or not. My witch sleeps, but I need no sleep. Many a day, when my witch is sleeping, I go out in the eternally full moon evening and gather with the other witch's cats. There are seven of us, but I am the only golden-colored one. Many of the cats are black, or grey. Witch Ayzumi's cat is silver, but I am the only golden one. My witch often strokes my light fur and tells me that I am special, and I purr.

She waves some stardust under my nose, and one sniff at it sets me off sneezing. So I turn disdainfully and leap on to a shelf of potions. My witch smiles a slight smile, and I know that she is laughing inside. A lot of the other cats and witches tell me that my witch is cruel and cold, but I know that she is caring and sensitive inside.

Somewhere deep, deep inside.

Buried under all that greed and winterbreath...

I am reminded of the newly blooming patch of winterbreath down by the lake. I must go pick some, today. This is when my witch talks to me.

"I have nine hundred ninety-nine souls," she says softly. I tilt my head at her. It means, _yes_? Her mouth twitches (a smile!) and she says, "today, I go out to get the thousandth." I blink, _what?_ Her face is stone still. Darn! She replies to my unasked question, "...and I have my sights on a certain girl, who is very much in love with a boy that is in danger."

I grin a cat grin and remember the fairytale myth. _Oh._

My witch sighs. "Honestly, these humans are so corrupt." _Look at who's talking._ "They don't even go after money anymore!" _Oh, never mind._ I wait for her to continue, but she stops. I guess my witch has never been very talkative.

I realize that I want, very much, to see the human world again. The mental note about blooming winterbreath flies out of my head. I pad desolately over to the broomstick and paw at it pleadingly. My witch frowns at me. I'd give her puppy eyes, but I'm afraid that's on the top shelf in the attic storage, first room.

"I've taken you for a walk this week, already," she scolds. I cringe before regaining my confidence and pout, or at least make a passable cute kitty frown. _I wanna go_, I think.

Maybe she can read thoughts, or maybe she just understands me, but she says a flat, "no." She turns and heads into the seeing room, scoping out the places she will go, and when she returns, I dig my claws firmly into her flyingstick. I am going.

I see her thinking, probably contemplating whether she should skin me now or let me enjoy a final day of happiness. I yowl, and she sighs and the flyingstick lifts.

We are off.

* * *

First we arrive at the house of a boy who lives on 1313 Waikai Lane. He has a very bad address. It reeks of unluckiness.

I have already managed to fall into one soot-encrusted chimney, and am completely black. My witch cackled at me - how befitting - and did not even try to clean it. Sometimes, I think that the kind part of her dies and the cruel part wins. Sometimes.

Then we are swooping through the mirror-land, a world parallel to the humans'. Everywhere there is a reflection, the mirror-land exists. We travel through the house and see the world and life of a human. And then, we come to my favorite part. This time, it will be even better because I am a _black, _albeit soot-covered cat.

The boy is standing in front of the mirror, and the mirror-land whispers his secrets to us. He has had a bad day. He's been humiliated, scorned, and scolded. He is a weak soul, and he is wishing - no, _calling_- for my witch. The girl he loves has rejected him. He, once popular, has lost his best friend and done something to alienate his other friends. He has messed up in social life, and done something his parents don't like.

All he wants is happiness.

After all, that's what every human wishes for.

My witch and I appear in style, surrounded by a billowing cloud of darkness in his mirror surface. I can tell by his shocked face that he can see us, from my hidden place in my witch's robes. My witch smiles at him, a seemingly innocent but actually very evil (believe me, I'd know) smile. "Greetings," she enunciates.

"Wh-Wha-Who--"

"What do you wish for?" My witch is abrupt. I grin mentally.

"Ah... um..." the human is too shocked to respond. I don't blame him. I _do _look magnificent, don't I? My witch sighes. Yes, I know, their awe-struck faces at my awesomeness _can_ become extremely trying at times...

"Well?" My witch taps her foot. Somehow, she manages to appear cool and confident in this ... disturbingly messed-up room. I bet she's already thinking about the profits she can make from today. Maybe she can get more than one soul, and trade it off for some top-notch stardust... I do believe, sometimes, that she loves only herself and her insatiable stomach. It's a wonder she isn't fat yet.

"You want happiness."

It is kind of funny how my witch can bend people to her will. Almost hilarious. If I weren't one of the people - or, per se, cats - she can bend so easily, I'd be laughing my head off.

In less than half and hour, we were flying through the mirror world once again, off to a far more important task.

* * *

There is a princess who rules this tiny but rich country on the shorelines of Eurapeo. She is rumoured far and wide to be amazingly beautiful, with long brunette locks of hair and amber-gold eyes. She is also said to be the kindest soul living. And... she is desperately in love.

I almost feel sorry for her. Almost.

She has all the qualities of being the next witch, and replacing my witch.

For that, I am almost grateful. Almost.

After all, who knows what comes after the witch world? Do we go to purgatory? Or someplace even worse? I do not want to leave my witch, nor the world I live in. I never want. I never need. I am happy.

What more can I ask for?

We ride the shadows of mirror-land quickly to Kingdom Sakura, but this time, the shadows are silent. They do not gossip. They know our task, and this time, they do not approve of it. Even the shadows love this princess...

The palace is beautiful. Even though my witch no longer has any need for money, I can see her calculating the value of the walls, the wallpaper, the paintings and ornate carvings we come across. My witch is prone to avarice. It amazes me how greedy she can be.

Then we whip through the throne room, moving in mirror-time. And although we may be just a fleeting shadow to the humans, we are going rather slowly now, for my witch to marvel and calculate the splendor of the rooms. We flit through the main hall, and up the turrets, past many open windows and beautiful scenes through an intricate passageway of mirrors. We see the cook, the sevant's quarters, and see how even the poorest of workers here have marble-lined rooms and beautiful, silver designs on their walls. It must have cost a fortune.

Then we are going up a tower, higher than any other, and I know we are nearing our destination. I purr and stretch, sniffing the perfumed air. The mirror ghosts are anxious.

That's when we see her. The princess. She's just as beautiful as they say.

But I don't think she's as beautiful as my witch.

She is humming to herself, doing a little waltz in the middle of the room. She looks incredibly gorgeous and graceful there, spinning in the golden light...

...Before she trips and falls. I look at the floor skeptically. Nope, nothing.

_Are you telling me she tripped on thin air?_I shake myself, dignified, and deign to step through the mirror first. I prowl her dresser top. I do not believe that this world-renown princess could be such a ... simply put, such a _klutz_. A total klutz! At least, I don't believe it until she trips again.

The brunette sits down hard at the edge of her perfectly made bed. "Owie," she mutters, massaging her bottom. I do hope that whatever I was, _if_ I ever had to be a human in my previous lives, I was as graceful as my witch. Speaking of whom, I do believe...

My witch appears in a dark swirl of lavender-scented clouds. Her short, bob-shaped hair flies in the wind, little tentative strands of it dancing in the breeze. Her silken violet robes flutter around before pooling to the floor around her feet. She has outdone herself this time.

Finally, the last silken ribbons flutter to the rich carpet. I am almost eagerly looking at the brunette klutz for her reaction.

Nothing.

I suppose she is well trained for these situations. But I am about to be surprised. Maybe this is why this brunette is so famous. I have never seen anything like it.

She treats my witch like an old friend.

"Hullo there," she chirps happily. I do believe a sliver of shock just entered my witch's eyes. I know _I_ am certainly gaping. "How are you?" Maybe she didn't see my witch come in...

"Fine," my witch utters.

"I am well, too!" She acts all sunshiny about this. "I am Princess Sakura. What is your name?" I feel a ping of recognition.

"You need not know it." But the klutz's grin only grows wider. It's like she's happy about being insulted. Maybe she has a snappy comeback.

"...you remind me of my nanny!" she cries joyfully instead. I turn my head. Is this girl stupid, or what?

There is a flash of white light, and a hard thud. When I look around again, I quiver, for my witch is furious, and the girl lies as if dead on the ground. But I know better. My witch would never kill a potential soul-giver. I lick my paws forlornly. I almost feel forgotten. Almost. And I almost feel sorry for the klutz. She's being used...

When my witch speaks again, it is with controlled anger. "Well, _Sakura,_do you have any wishes?" As an afterthought, she adds, "and how is Prince Charming doing?" The dead kultz rebounds as if nothing has happened, all hyper and cherry again.

"I'm meeting him today," she chirps. "And yes, you may come." The way she puts it makes it sound like a privilege. I sniff delicately. I change my mind. _Kill her, Hotaru~!_I rage in my head. "We're going to the Edane Glade, between the Hyuuga and Sakura Kingdoms," she adds.

What happens next is so pathetic, I hate to relate it. Honestly, it's like one of those terribly cliche moments in a movie where you would want to smash the screenwriter, only it happens in real life. So all you can do is rain mental curses down on the person who says it.

She says, "oh my!" And she holds her hand up to her glossed lips in a fake-looking gasp. "Look at the time! I must go!"

_Ughhh. I think I'm going to puke._ Seriously? Seriously?!

Then she dashes out of the room like a frenzied puppy - one of the worst insults I am fit to give - and goes off riding a white pony on her way to see her oh-_so_-charming prince. Bah. I think I've got a stomachache.

My witch and I follow more slowly, traveling right behind her. My witch has veiled us from human eyes, and we are uninterrupted in our journey. It is strange, traveling with the lonesome princess. I wonder, idly, why she is given so much freedom. I do not pursue the thought. It is tiring, and this is my nap time.

The scenery is beautiful. The sun is warm. I could sleep right here, on the soft, polished wood of my witch's broom, under her silk skirts. I yawn. My stomach grumbles.

Finally, the princess stops. She has swung her slender legs over the white pony and hopped off. She's standing at the edge of a peaceful pond, with a small bridge across it. It's wooden, but intricately carved. I wonder how the princess knows of this place.

My witch lands us in the foliage near her, and we wait. The spring breeze is cool against my fur, and it is faintly reminiscent of something. I feel at peace. But my heart seems to be longing for something... something I do not remember. Something I do not know.

Then, we see him.

He has dark hair and fiery eyes. It ignites a pang in my heart, of mourning, of sadness, of something... but I know not what. He walks across the bridge to the little circular pavilion in the middle, where the princess is waiting. The wind brings faint snippets of conversation to my ears.

"...are you? ... for a long time ... been waiting ... something happen...?" The lilting voice of the princess. There's a deep-throated laugh.

"...many questions! ... traveling ... like my present? ... from Euphoria ... -nt I earned ... trust?" The bass voice of the boy says. I am almost frustrated. What a meaningless conversation! They smile and speak pleasantries, but I pay them no more mind. Maybe it is time to catch my nap... I've always hated _mushy_ stuff.

I blink, and when I open my eyes again, the sun has sunk in the sky by a paw.

But an ever-urging sense of importance drives me forward, and I sneak closer to them. They're still laughing, smooching, and basically having a mushily great time. Wonderful.

I am at the foot of the bridge when the princess' voice rings out.

"...What do you mean, you can't see me anymore?!" Her voice is breathy, but insistent, haunting and soprano. My tail twitches involuntarily. There is a long silence, in which many things lie, and nothing is revealed. The next time she speaks, her voice is accusing. "You found somebody else, didn't you? Hyuuga, you're too ... handsome for your own good! I knew you'd...!" Her voice grows weaker, and she is shaking her head, eyebrows all scrunched up.

The name rings a bell in my mind. A catbell. Hyuuga... so a prince, huh...

There is no answer, but it is as good as a confirmation. The Hyuuga realizes, too late, what it means. "...No! It's just that--"

"I don't care about your excuses!" Ooh. Cheesy drama line! I've always loved those Korean dramas and English plays. I snuggle down for the good show. "I'll leave you to your mistress, Hyuuga!" She stomps off.

Sakura never fails to disappoint me.

Could she at least make it a little more interesting? A little spice of doubt? Some romance, maybe? But _noooo_. Maybe she forgot her lines. I mean, what sort of a boring tragedy is this?

After she's stomped off, the Hyuuga sits there in silence for a while. Then he says something that puzzles me. He goes, "There. Are you happy now? She's left me, just as you said she would." He abruptly stands up and jumps on his horse, riding off, literally, into the sunset.

The only thing missing is the princess at his side.

On that intriguing note, my witch scoops me up and we leave for the witch's land.

* * *

When we get home, I wait until my witch falls asleep to go outside. I look up at the ever-full moon and sigh to myself. The wolfbane is due to grow tomorrow, and I believe that the dogs will come the next day. It's time to prepare another jar for the puppy eyes...

But today I slink off to the patch of winterbreath. The soft white petals have fully opened to the silver moonlight, and moondew, as we call it, shimmers on the velvety white. The moondew is medicine for any earthly disease, and bane of the terrible creatures that lurk out of the regions of the seven witches.

It's amazing in the moonlight. I can almost see that paths of the snow-fairies as they danced across the ground, the delicate shine of diamond white lacing over the leafs and vines of the winterbreath. I look around quickly.

It is perhaps the most amazing part of being a cat, more amazing than having a witch. It is something that must be done in secret, even away from our witches, and fellow cats. I don't even know if the other cats can do it.

I gently bite off a winterbreath flower, a delicate, beautiful thing about the size of my paw. As I eat it... I transform.

And all of a sudden, I am a fairy, or something like one. A winter fairy, a snow fairy... White, translucent silk drapes over my arms. My legs grow, my face changes shape, and my hair grows out and in at the same time. It's amazing, and such a beautiful feeling. Like I am reborn, washing away my wrongdoings bit by bit.

If I were to eat sunlace, I'd become a sun fae. Or moonshine, a moon faiey. A watergloube, a water fayye.

Frost forms at my feet. With a wave of my arm, the winterbreath grows faster, and little strands of blooming, ripe winterbreath come out of the flowers, little pods of seeds floating into my hands.

Within an hour, the phenomena is over, and my black cloak of fur laid over me. I return home, with a mouthful of winterbreath stands and blooms in time for dawn. I set the winterbreath on the table and lay down as if I am asleep. When my witch wakes up, I will yawn and stretch like I always do.

The thought strikes me that my life is a lie...

...but it doesn't matter. Nothing does. I am happy. I am safe. My witch is well.

The world is right.

* * *

It is a secret I keep to myself, but during the week of peace and normality, I visit the human world several times, without my witch. I feel almost guilty, doing this, as if I am somehow betraying her trust. She is, of course, always either sleeping or absorbed in her work when I leave. She's used to my comings and goings; I do not like the smell of the cauldron when it is being utilized, and the mixture of herbs are always especially pungent to a cat's nose.

There is an almost sacred secret to how the cats leave the witch world for the human world, and not one that we use often. But sometimes, I like to get away from it all. Especially when my witch is brewing puppy eyes, which she is, today.

So I will not even think, not ever speak of the secret, not even to you, my faithful secret keeper through all this time. I dare not betray the trust of the witches' cats. It's kind of funny. Here I am, betraying my witch, yet I dare not betray the cats.

It takes me hardly a minute to get there. I am, once more, among the gradeur of the princess' castle. It takes my breath away, the richness in which she lives.

I find her in her tower room, pouring over musty old books. I can smell their bug-bitten scent from her doorway. A maid is bringing her hot chocolate, and I slip in right after her heels. The maid, a rosy-cheeked, slightly plump, grandmotherly lady, looks scared. Her face isn't suited for it.

Sakura accepts the mug without even looking up. The maid scurries away, frightened. As she sweeps by me, she whispers, "I wish Miss Sakura were still the same. I don't know what has gotten into her!" I look back at the princess. _Is _something wrong? I wouldn't know.

As I get closer, I make out the title of one of the heavy tomes sitting on her desk. _Drakka's Potions_, it says. A bell chimes in my head. Time for dinner! No, but I _do_ know what it is.

It's a witch's potions book.

Of course, Sakura is mortal, and there's no way she'd know how to do the potions correctly, much less find all of the right ingredients. I don't think she's heartless enough to gut a horse with a needle, not yet. Anyway, Drakka is a vampire, although most humans know him as Dracula.

Drakka escaped from the terror lands outside of the witch's territories several centuries ago. He made his way to earth, and started the entire big with thing and the vampire searches. Although, I don't know what people are thinking these days. As far as _I_know, neither vampires nor witches, nor really anything except for bio-luminescent bugs _sparkle_. That point aside, Drakka spread his name worldwide to cause fear, but somehow his true name got twisted into _Dracula_ in the process.

This must have been part of the items he stole from the witches before he left. How convenient.

Another really funny misinterpretation is that Dracula was actually a child, hardly older than I was, when I lived in the human world. He was probably in the age of 'high school', as humans would say. I find that interesting. The not-funny part of all of this is that it's an actual witch's book. If anybody could _actually_ make one of these potions right, it would _actually_ be magic.

Sakura has found the page with the love potion on it. The thing is, and I could tell, that she didn't have a needle-gutted horse's liver. It was obviously cut out by a knife. It if wasn't, the potions wouldn't keep turning purple, instead of pink, like it should be. That, or she didn't do it by hand. I think it's both.

I shake my head, and my fur... and then my tail, for good measure. Like a dog.

Then I return to the my witch's house.

* * *

My witch is brewing a hate potion. I can smell it in the air, the bittersweet tang of dragonsbane and forrin. Forrin, which kills unless properly diluted. I hope Sakura never finds any Forrin plants.

Occasionally, the witches take a hand in changing the fate of the world. A bit of woe here an there can actually help the bigger picture. But I do not want to hear who the hate potion is for. I do not want to know. Maybe it will help in the long run, but I always feel for the ones who are having their fates changed, and whom never know it.

* * *

Even magic can't help morons. Honestly, by the third trip I took to Sakura's room, I was getting sick of the silly mistakes she'd made. She has moved on to a different love potion, the simplest, least effective one. It creates a primitive lust, undisguised and easy to break. It's quite... common. Vulgar is the word. Absolutely vulgar.

Anyway, the directions say simply, first, and I quote, "_flatten the Amatirre berries with a silver knife."_ A silver knife! Obviously hers has touches of steel in it, or the potion would be red, not pink! I bet she's also skimping on the rabbit fur. It's got to be plucked, I tell you! Every single different strand of hair plucked! And pure white, as well.

The list could go on forever, but I'm not taking kindly to waiting around forever.

At long last, perhaps the fifth or sixth time I check, she has given up, and is sitting on her windowsill, as silent as a ghost, staring out into the rainy sky.

* * *

Finally, my witch deems it time to return to the human world. We fly through the Eurapeo night skies slowly, and we arrive in time to see the gathering. It is the glade between the Sakura and Hyuuga kingdoms, and there are three people there.

We have arrived in the middle of a drama.

Sakura. Hyuuga. And...

"...Imai! I knew it was you!" Sakura hissed. Imai? Why did she look so familiar? Speaking of which, she looked exactly like my witch... Isn't my witch's last name Imai? I have a headache.

The girl has short, bob-shaped hair, like my witch. Her face is emotionless. What is this? "I did nothing to you that you did not do to me, _Sakura_." The way she sneers the princess' name fills me with something akin to fear. She then lets out a bark of laughter that sounds somehow amused and evil at the same time. Evilly amused. I shiver.

"Wait, girls, back it off," the Hyuuga says. But I don't think the girls are listening.

"What, do you mean that boyfriend of yours, Imai? That...Nogi kid? I did nothing to him! It was all what he did to himself," Sakura shouts.

"I know what I saw, Sakura."

"It's not _my_ fault he walked into the line of fire. It was an accident, okay? So lay off it, would ya?"

Imai turns to the boy, Hyuuga. "No, it may not have been your fault. But it was definitely Hyuuga's, wasn't it?" She takes something out of her pocket. Something that is painted black... A crossbow.

My heart is tightening. I know why now. ...This can't be happening. No, no! It's history all over again...

Imai's eyes are cold with anger. "It's all your fault, Hyuuga, and you know what I mean. But I can't hurt your stony little heart, so I'll just take away the one thing you treasure, the one person you love." She points the bow at Sakura.

There is a terrible silence, laden with secrets and hope, love and fear and hatred...

"Please, Imai," Sakura pleads. "Don't... We were friends once...!" It's a last, desperate plea for mercy.

Imai responds coldly. "Once. Once upon a time. But _now..._Now we are not." Her finger squeezes the trigger, but before she shoots, she fires another, last taunt. "Stop me if you can." She pulls a knife out from under her dark, navy blue dress. Sakura cringes, at her words or at the knife, I do not know. But I have a feeling the words mean more than they seem.

Her finger pulls back. The crossbow bucks. _It's happening all over again_, I think. I don't know why, but those words come to my head.

What happens next happens so fast I almost think I imagined it. It is history in the remaking. Three things occur:

Hyuuga jumps in front of Sakura, taking the shot. It's so movie-istic, and so cheesy, but utterly heart-wrenching and tear-letting at the same time.

Sakura starts wailing. Well, that isn't a big thing, but her voice is so loud that you can't help but notice it.

And Imai sticks a knife in her own heart. What can I say? I'll never understand the Imais, my witch aside, of course. Then again, I don't even fully understand my witch.

I suddenly realize that I am crying. That's strange. I'm happy...aren't I?

Then it is over, over and done, and two people lie bleeding, love lies dying, and Sakura kneels weeping on the forest floor. That's when my witch reveals herself. We slowly make our way to Sakura, noble and regal, in the full moon. My witch kneels in front of her. Sakura doesn't look the least bit surprised.

"You're a witch, aren't you?" She bites at us. "A witch and her cat. Like in the legends."

"Yes."

"Well, I'm not accepting any wishes from you," she wails. "Don't even offer. Don't tempt me."

My witch is silent for a few moments, but then she speaks. "You can save him. You can save your childhood friend. You can even save the boy that died. I know that you are at your weakest moment right now, but think. I am not making you the soul offer, but rather a different offer entirely."

She is intrigued. I can tell.

"Miyu," she addresses the Sakura princess, my descendant, "you will take my place as a witch, and Imai," a swallow, "will take my little cat, Mikan's, place as a cat. Your love will be saved. As you serve out the curse of the Thousand Souls, your love will be waiting for you, for the moment you finish. You will have to do what every other witch has done, and you will live happily, in the ever after if there ever was one."

"Your soul will be taken from you, and you will be banished to the witch lands," my witch continues, "until you have collected 1000 human souls and found somebody else, like I have found you, to take your place." She is silent for a moment. "Then you and your lover will be reunited, and you will be happy forever, in a land of joy and youth."

She sounds like she really wants to believe it. No, she sounds sure that it is true.

Sakura pauses. "Is that what happened to you?"

"Yes."

I can see the hesitation in her eyes now, the kindness, the mercy, and the hope. She rocks back and forth on her knees.

Suddenly, she begins to sing.

_These are choices we all make_

_Paths that we all have to take_

_So I look at you and say,_

_'Maybe it is better this way.'_

_Try to distance yourself from me_

_Turn your head, you can fly free._

_You have been unbound today_

_And maybe, I think, it's better that way._

The answer was silent, but not unspoken. I don't know why she sang, as a reminder to herself, or as an answer. I don't know what song it is.

But a tear drips down my golden fur.

She turns around.

My witch and I leave.

The forest settles still, and a full moon hangs above the bodies of two people. Rain clouds come, and their secret washed away... Like mine was.

And those words, never meant to be seen, nor read,

Heard, nor felt,

Nor even known...

But dreamt. Dreamt and forgotten, like the winter snow on a hot summer day...

They hung in the air like diamonds. Tempting.

Forbidden.

* * *

Have you ever heard of the world in which the evil witches and their black cats live in harmony?

It's a lie.

The cat's aren't black, after all, not all of them. And the witches aren't evil, at least, not mine.

My witch tells me of a time when I was human. She says that we lived together, on the human world. She always gets a sad look in her eyes when she says this. Then, she always continues with my favorite part of the tale. It is a legend of the witches, and my witch tells me the story often.

The legend of the witches says that the witches and their cats were once each human, and that we have been turned into witches and cats as a punishment. See? It is a fairytale. After all, how could being a witch and her cat become a punishment?

Anyway, the legend says that someday, the witch will collect one thousand souls. After than day, the witch must find somebody willing to give up their own soul in exchange for the life of their lover, or the one they love. In turn, they will become a witch and their lover a cat. The same curse will be put upon them, the Curse of the Thousand Souls, that was put on the previous witch. And the cycle starts all over.

I don't believe the story. I know that it is not true.

My name is Sakura Mikan, and I was once a human. When I lived on the human planet, I did something terribly wrong. I played a part in the accidental killing of my best friend's boyfriend.

You probably know the story. After all, I have told you of the time when history rewrote itself, and my descendant, Miyu Sakura, found herself in the same situation "my witch" was in at the time. Maybe it was a curse that has been laid on our family. Maybe I'll never know.

I do not know what comes after the witch lands, but I am happy enough here.

On the mantle, there sits two pictures. One is of Hotaru and Ruka together. The other is of me and Natsume. I don't know if we'll ever be together again, but there is always hope in my heart for the day it might come to be.

Until that day comes, I will lay down in the coming dawn of the eternally full moon night and pretend to sleep again.

Because I know that the sun will always rise.

And with it, rises hope.

But who knows?

Maybe it's better this way.

* * *

Thanks for reading and do leave a review; I should be very happy to know what you think. :)

_Authors of all participating entries will only be revealed after the polls are closed._

Show your support by adding _this account_ to your author alert list, as this is the ONE account used for posting _ALL ENTRIES_. Be sure to read all the stories and vote for your favorite in the polls, which will be in Hilaire's forums from _October 24-28_.

Please subscribe to the official newsletter of HGAFFC, whose link can be found in this account's profile, for the results, behind-the-scenes, and a bunchload more about this challenge. Thank you!

_Stories that contain the challenge requirements BUT failed to meet the deadline and therefore did not participate in the contest are NOT allowed to be posted._

**HGAFFC ****Evette.  
All rights reserved.**


End file.
